Thaibirds and more

  North of Thailand 3-13 th of March, 2021   3 rd Drive to Klong Lan 4 th Mae Wong 5 th Klong Lan 6 th Mae Ping 7 th Doi Inthanon 8 th Doi Suthep 9 th Doi Chiang Dao 10 th Doi Angkhang 11 th Doi Lang, Doi Chiang Dao 12 th Doi Suthep 13 th Drive home   In March I normally conduct tours for visiting birders but , alas, not this year! We all know why. This time I set out on a trip on my own with a slightly different agenda. I wanted to connect with birds not seen in Central Thailand and I wanted to find butterflies to add to my collection of pictures. Finding new bird species is next to impossible at this stage but the butterflies is a new field that provides a lot of excitement.   Day 1.    I left late morning and did a couple of stops along the way checking out the field birds. A strait drive to Klong Lan takes   5 hour. There is only 1 really good restaurant in ...

  Exactly 3 years ago the alarm went out for a Fairy Pitta showing at a smaller park/wooded area across the river in Samut Prakan province.    I absolutely had to go though I had seen the bird 4 years earlier at Kor Man Nai but such an opportunity to get some pictures could not be denied.    The area is part of the old Bangkok with lots of smaller canals, orchards and vegetation.    There were other people there as well, some with blinds and some without.   It didn't take long before the bird came hopping on the ground.    Fairy Pitta was only discovered in Thailand in recent years. And I was not in the country when one showed at Phutomonton park years before. The one sure spot is Kor Man Nai but quite an endeavor to go there plus the small island is basically closed off to regular birders since researchers and ringers have obtained permission to rope off the main parts of the island for their project.   Fairy Pitta breeds in Taiwan...

  Since all city parks are closed for the time being I visited Lat Krabang for the 4 th time this week this morning. There is   quite a lot of activity as the fields are in a state where birds easily can find food. There are also a number of warblers here still and they are now singing in preparation for their breeding grounds in Siberia and Northern China. It is not possible to get close up shots everyday and the weather (light) varies almost daily with lots of rain and mist and the occasional sunlight breaking through.       A Baillon's Crake was a nice surprise. It is one of the rarer or atleast hard to see ones and I didn't think  it was still here as it is a migratory bird.  In the same pond I got eyes on a Yellow Bittern but he also spotted me so quickly decided to move on.  Pallas's Grasshopper Warbler a.k.a Rusty-rumped Warbler is a favorite of mine. It is now singing away and more in the open. Greater Painted...

Since the city parks closed today and mandatory mask wearing started I decided to go somewhere away from humans. Ha! I particularly enjoyed the Whiskered and White-winged Terns feeding in a frenzy at some of the fish ponds. The birds are stocking up on fuel for their flight to breeding grounds and will leave shortly. Especially White-winged goes through an amazing transformation (moulting into breeding plumage) and is rather elegant this time of year.  Asian Golden Weavers are nesting all over. Almost at arms length in places. They seem oblivious to man's efforts of restricting their preferred habitat, reed beds, and make use of just about any patch of reeds they can find. The male is the weaver but the female does supply materials and inspects the nest.  Two Slaty-breasted Rails dared to show themselves in the open. But they are oh so shy. Will need to try a different approach for better pix another time.  Several Jacanas were seen but a bit far off. These birds flour...

Hodgson's Hawk Cuckoo from Suan Rotfai park in Bangkok . Atleast it used to be called that. But when checking the new fieldguide I see it is now called Whistling Hawk Cuckoo and has been split into 2, the other form now called Malay Hawk Cuckoo. It is a passage migrant in Central Thailand and only the 2nd one I have seen.